Construction is underway for the Maples, a ‘really exciting’ bespoke Mansfield service for enhanced support needs

Construction is well underway at the Maples, a unique supported living service in Mansfield that will be the very first of its kind in Nottinghamshire.

Using investment from NHS England, the supported living service will support five people with learning disabilities and autism. The service is currently under construction, and will open in summer 2023.

Earlier this year, Future Home Care, which is part of Lifeways, was awarded a contract by Nottinghamshire County Council to provide the support at the upcoming service.

The Maples is made up of a cluster of five self-contained single person bungalows, with access to a core support team based in the on-site staff office.

‘Real collaboration’

Developing the Maples “has been a real collaboration across partners,” said Anne Tebbs, Senior Commissioning Officer in Nottinghamshire County Council’s Adult Social Care team.

Support provided at the Maples by Lifeways, will be “more intensive” than other supported living models, added Anne – and the very first of its kind in the county.

The resulting support model aims to provide the best of both worlds to individuals: specialist, tailored support when needed, and independence when desired.

“The homes are built to a high specification that will support people with enhanced needs to live a great quality of life,” said Anne.

A ‘plus plus’ service

The service’s support team will receive additional specialist training, working alongside an embedded Positive Behavioural Support Practitioner, who will help team members to develop different support approaches.

The upcoming service is described by Nottinghamshire County Council as a ‘plus plus service’ due to the higher level of needs it will support.

“It is a great privilege to work with colleagues at Lifeways to see the sketches put into reality,” said Anne.

Michaela Butterworth, Lifeways’ Community Engagement and Development Manager for the Central East region, said: “The council has expressed huge levels of excitement about the Maples – and rightly so.”

“I am proud to be part of this opportunity to deliver specialist, person-centred support in a one-of-a-kind service.”